In fishing, particularly in freshwater fly fishing, a fisherman needs to attach split shot, usually composed of lead or tin, to the fishing line to add weight so that the line and attached fly will submerge. A typical split shot is spherical in shape with a central split dividing it into two hemispheres. The shot is attached to a fishing line by inserting the line into the split and crimping the split closed around the line. As water conditions, depth and current speed change, the fisherman must add or remove split shot, which is available in various sizes, in order to adjust the weight of the line to achieve the correct depth of float. When adding split shot to a line, a fisherman will often crimp the shot closed with his teeth. Alternately, a fisherman may crimp the shot by squeezing it between his fingers or using pliers.
Using one's teeth as a crimping tool entails risks of dental injury and toxic hazards associated with ingestion of heavy metals, particularly lead. Squeezing the split shot between one's fingers often does not result in a tight closure due to the softness of the fingers and the discomfort associated with applying digital pressure to a hard protruding surface. Since a fisherman will typically attach the split shot with one hand while he holds his fishing rod in the other, conventional pliers are problematic, since they require the use of both hands—one to hold the shot and the other to operate the pliers.
When water conditions require the fisherman to reduce the weight on the fishing line, some of the split shot must be removed. This operation requires that the split in the shot be pried open again or that the shot be cut through the middle to release it from the line. Again, a fisherman will often use his teeth to pry open the split shot, with the same attendant risks associated with closing the shot in this manner. Use of the fingernails to pry the shot open if frequently ineffective and also involves risk of broken fingernails as well as discomfort. The use of a knife or other sharp tool to pry open split shot or cut it—like the use of pliers for closing the shot—requires the use of two hands. Moreover, in the slippery wet environment of fishing, there is a heightened risk of injury associated with the use of knives.
Consequently, there is a need for a fishing tool capable of effectively attaching and detaching split shot to/from a fishing line. Optimally such a tool would be compact, accessible, easy to use and operable with one hand, and its use in the fishing environment would not involve significant risks of injury to the fisherman. Much of the prior art in this area involves some variation of a plier-type design. This category takes in most of the older art, such as McKeehan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,920,514 (January 1960), Stanfield, U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,319 (March 1965), Hermann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,749 (June 1980), Bigej, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,318 (January 1989), as well as some of the more recent patents, such as Lael, U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,012 (May 1993), and Simpson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,649 (December 1998). A slight variation on this same design involves a modified hemostat tool, as disclosed by Pietrandrea, U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,874 (September 1996). All of these tools, however, share the disadvantage of requiring the use of both hands in order to be operated safely and effectively.
The second major category of the prior art in this field consists of combination sinker attachment/dispenser tools, such as Belokin, U.S. Pat. No. 2,736,026 (February 1956), Stanfield, U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,687 (October 1956), Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,993 (July 1955), Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 2,844,980 (April 1956), Edes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,400 (March 1968), Dippold, U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,548 (January 1979), Price, U.S. Pat. No. 4,377,027 (March 1983), and Ball, U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,888 (August 1999). With the exception of Dippold and Ball, however, these tools are not capable of reopening the split shot, and none of them is readily operable with one hand. Moreover, the mechanical complexity of these tools compromises their compactness, ease of use and reliability in the field.
While one reference, Casagram, U.S. Pat. No. 6,477,803 B1 (November 2002), does disclose a simple, compact tool for opening split shot, this reference still does not satisfy the identified need because it lacks the function of also closing the split shot, and its operation requires both hands.
For the foregoing reasons, there remains a need, not satisfactorily addressed by the prior art, for a split shot fishing tool which effectively, safely and reliably performs both split shot attachment and removal, yet is also compact, easy to use, and operable with one hand. Since fisherman, particularly fly fishermen, need to be able to access their tools quickly, there is also a great advantage to a tool which is attachable to the fisherman's vest or “zinger” and thus can be readily deployed without going to the tackle box or reaching into a pocket.